SINGAPORE

African Property Fund MaraDelta agrees to buy Mauritius Resort

​​​​SINGAPORE, 5 October 2016 – Lux Island Resorts Limited has entered into an agreement to sell its Tamassa resort on the Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius for US$40 million. Mauritius and South Africa-listed real estate fund MaraDelta is set to acquire the property on a sale-and-leaseback basis that will see Lux Island Resorts continue as operator of the hotel. JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group acted as exclusive advisor on behalf of seller.

“We are very excited about this acquisition, our second in Mauritius and the first into a new asset class. The acquisition is expected to enhance our previously forecasted distributions,” says Ms Bronwyn Corbett, CEO of MaraDelta. “The seller, Lux Island Resorts Limited, is listed on the Mauritian Stock Exchange and one of the largest hotel chains on the island and will guarantee the lease payments over the duration of the lease back.”

Adam Bury, Senior Vice President, JLL Hotels & Hospitality, Asia, commented: “Tamassa is a highly successful resort in an established yet still growing holiday destination. Mauritius is becoming increasingly popular, with tourism a key driver for the economy. We expect to see significant investment in the island nation over the next five years, with more leisure travellers turning to Mauritius as an attractive addition to the diverse range of Indian Ocean destinations.”

International visitor arrivals to Mauritius increased by 10.3 percent year-on-year to June 2016 with France leading the inbound market. Europe is the principal source of tourists making up 57 percent of visitors. This growth has been supported by an increasing number of direct flights to the island nation, providing greater accessibility for tourists from the Middle East, Mainland China and Europe. Emirates operates two A380 planes daily to the island; Turkish Airlines launched a route from Istanbul in 2016; and AirAsia begins flights direct from Kuala Lumpur in October 2016, further increasing access from Asia, with Air Mauritius already providing direct flights from Singapore.

The lucrative Mainland China market, in particular, grew strongly in 2015 with visitor arrivals up by 41.4 percent year-on-year. This increase in tourists has been reflected in hotel occupancy, which was up by 13.7 percent in 2015 to 72.9 percent.

According to Xander Nijnens, Head of JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group in Sub-Saharan Africa: “The Mauritius market is on a strong growth trajectory due to improving air access and the status of Mauritius as a safe destination. Following several years of subdued growth in hotel demand we forecast improving market performance in the medium term. The more favourable trading climate should allow local owners to recapitalise their hotels and firm up their balance sheets, whilst we expect foreign investors to increasingly look at the market.”

Asian and Middle Eastern investment has been particularly strong into the Maldives and the Seychelles during the past five years and it is expected that more of this will flow south into Mauritius.

Désiré Elliah, Chief Financial Officer, LUX Resorts & Hotels says: “The sale of Tamassa is in line with the ‘asset light’ strategy of the Group and the proceeds will be used to invest in our brand by means of new, refreshed and reinvented properties. We would like to thank JLL for their contribution and getting the deal done.”

​A four-star beach hotel, Tamassa occupies 350 metres of premier beach frontage and is 40 minutes away from Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International airport. The 214-room resort fronts a pristine coral reef lagoon and is located close to championship golf courses and the world-famous Le Morne Peninsula. Providing a comprehensive mix of facilities and services, it has been operating for more than nine years and is ranked seventh out of 178 hotels in Mauritius on TripAdvisor.

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Notes to Editors

JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group has completed more transactions than any other hotels and hospitality real estate advisor over the last five years, totaling more than $68 billion worldwide.

Between negotiating the world’s most extraordinary, enticing, and profitable property deals, the group’s 350-strong global team also closed more than 4,400 advisory, valuation and asset management assignments.

Investors worldwide turn to JLL to shape their strategies, tailor their portfolios and maximize the value of their assets. We are recognized as the global leader in real estate services across hospitality properties of all shapes and sizes. Our expert advice is backed by industry-leading research.

We apply our broad spectrum of hotel valuation, brokerage, asset management and consultancy services through every phase of the hotel lifecycle. We have helped more hotel investors, owners and operators achieve high returns on their assets than any other real estate advisor in the world.

Whether you are looking for a hotel or you're ready to sell, we'll use our capital markets expertise, hospitality industry knowledge and global relationships to put the right parties together and execute a bespoke deal that exceeds your objectives.​

JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a professional services and investment management firm offering specialized real estate services to clients seeking increased value by owning, occupying and investing in real estate. A Fortune 500 company with annual fee revenue of $5.2 billion and gross revenue of $6.0 billion, JLL has more than 280 corporate offices, operates in more than 80 countries and has a global workforce of more than 60,000. On behalf of its clients, the firm provides management and real estate outsourcing services for a property portfolio of 4.0 billion square feet, or 372 million square meters, and completed $138 billion in sales, acquisitions and finance transactions in 2015. Its investment management business, LaSalle Investment Management, has $59.1 billion of real estate assets under management. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit
www.jll.com.

JLL has over 50 years of experience in Asia Pacific, with 34,000 employees operating in 92 offices in 16 countries across the region. The firm won 15 awards at the International Property Awards Asia Pacific in 2016 and was named number one real estate advisor in Asia at the 2015 Euromoney Real Estate Awards.
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